The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 209 - 208 Well, I’m really going to be sent off

Chapter 209: Chapter 208 Well, I’m really going to be sent off

"What is this thing?"

Liu Zheng took the metallic fragment, and a sensation of extreme sharpness pricked his tentacles.

But when he looked at the spot that had been pricked, he found that it wasn’t actually cut open.

Upon closer inspection, Liu Zheng realized that it seemed to be a part of some kind of weapon.

"Name: Killing Stone Fragment (disposable)"

"Type: Item/Miscellaneous"

"Quality: Fine"

"Effect One: Can cut open the body of any creature, causing negative mutations."

"Effect Two: When used as crafting material, it can enhance the sharpness and lethality of a weapon against creatures."

"Note: How many times do I have to say it, I’m not going to turn into a fox!"

"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"

Killing Stone?

How does this thing not look like a stone at all?

Could it be that the name of that weapon is the Killing Stone?

Speaking of which, this was the first time Liu Zheng had seen an item with dual types.

It’s both an item and miscellaneous, with different effects.

In terms of long-term benefits, it’s definitely more cost-effective to use it as crafting material.

But the effect of causing negative mutations in enemies also sounded pretty good.

If it were a complete Killing Stone, it would probably cause mutations to one’s race, like what happened to Guo Koutangzi.

"It’ll do, I guess."

Liu Zheng pocketed the Killing Stone Fragment.

Guo Koutangzi couldn’t be bothered with it, and this thing was not some common merchandise; it was well-known throughout Metropolis’s underworld.

If Liu Zheng could collect all the fragments and craft a complete Killing Stone, he might even become the leader of the entire underworld.

Of course, that was impossible.

As far as Guo Koutangzi knew, some of the Killing Stone Fragments had already been taken outside of Metropolis.

That was also an important reason why she was willing to give the fragment to Liu Zheng as a reward.

"Referee Sir, then I’ll trouble you to wait for me for a bit."

Liu Zheng said to the Red Dragonfly.

"No problem, I was planning to soak in the hot springs a bit longer anyway."

The Red Dragonfly fluttered its wings and then dove into the pool, splashing a huge wave.

"Hahaha!"

It let out a hearty and naive laugh, reminiscent of a mischievous old child.

"It seems everyone in Metropolis has some serious issues."

Liu Zheng shook his head and left the women’s bath with two pots of broth in hand.

After leaving the Jidao Public Bath, he rode his racing car back to Rose Street.

"I’m back, surprise or not?"

He got out of the car, smiling and greeting.

"Surprise no, but a bit of a scare, yes."

The French Plane Tree responded unenthusiastically.

"Being startled is good enough. I brought you something nice."

Liu Zheng raised the two pots as a sign.

"What are those?"

The French Plane Tree asked.

As long as the lids weren’t lifted, the scent inside wouldn’t escape.

"Soup. Seeing you drink so much, I was worried about your liver, so I brought you some broth to nourish it."

He said.

"Idiot human, where would a tree get a liver?"

The French Plane Tree rolled its eyes.

"Then consider it nourishment for your annual rings, bark, roots, chlorophyll, and whatnot."

"Stop rambling here, what do you want to trade for?"

The French Plane Tree asked.

"Do you still have any of those emergency rations you gave me last time?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"No."

The French Plane Tree shook its head.

"What about something a bit more high-end than that?"

He persisted.

"Also no. Why would I like canned food that much to stock up on it?"

"I only gave you that because some dumb bird stole it from somewhere."

The French Plane Tree said.

"Can you get that bird to steal another can?"

Liu Zheng probed.

"Sure."

The French Plane Tree agreed readily.

"Huh?"

Agreeing so easily, there must be a catch.

"Just go inside my belly and tell it yourself."

As expected, the French Plane Tree followed up.

"Tch. I thought you had a good relationship with birds, why would you eat one?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"My relationship with them is purely transactional, just like with you. Besides, that bird went crazy, tried to make a hole in me, why wouldn’t I eat it."

"Make a hole? Is it a bird or a squirrel?"

He was puzzled.

"How did you ever graduate from school? You don’t even know what a woodpecker is? You’re such a fool."

The French Plane Tree took the opportunity to mock him.

"Oh."

Liu Zheng was immune to its mockery.

Firstly, he indeed hadn’t attended a school in Metropolis.

Secondly, with all the bizarre things he had seen so far, who knew if there were still normal species like woodpeckers around.

"Think hard, isn’t there something similar?"

Liu Zheng pressed on.

"Why should I bother thinking for you?"

The French Plane Tree said disdainfully.

"It’s not for me, it’s for yourself. The person we’re trying to save is the helper I found for you."

"What caliber, and they’d be qualified to be my helper?"

The French Plane Tree showed a slight interest.

"Jiwei Group, an organization of both chefs and gangsters. Overall, their strength is about the same as Niu Ma’s, but they are freer than Niu Ma and easier to control,"

"The key is, I need their help to smash the Jordan family’s factories and then get the arrest warrant for the Fire Mage canceled,"

Liu Zheng explained patiently.

"A convoluted plan."

French Plane Tree commented.

He shrugged his shoulders, offering no objection.

When one lacks strength oneself, one has no choice but to link one thing to another, leveraging greater and greater powers just like in finance.

But if it weren’t for this approach, how could he, a mere human who had just entered this world a few days ago, manage to accomplish so much?

Look at his previous delivery boys, then at the pet humans in the "Sunshine Pet Store," and at the waiters on the 11th floor.

To avoid ending up like them, Liu Zheng had no choice but to take calculated risks, seeking life within death.

"There really is something like that, but whether you can get it depends on whether what you’re giving is valuable enough,"

French Plane Tree said.

"Don’t worry, it’s guaranteed to be top quality and sufficient quantity."

Would the quality be subpar when even Napoleon was coveting the soup cooked in that extraordinary pot?

As for quantity, both pots of soup together weighed almost twenty pounds – enough not just for watering a plant, but for irrigating a whole field.

Liu Zheng lifted the lids of the two pots at once, and a strange, enticing fragrance immediately wafted out.

"Achoo!"

French Plane Tree sneezed.

The grey-brown face turned a shade redder.

"Purée! What the hell is this? It’s stronger than spirits,"

it cursed involuntarily.

"A signature dish from the Bloody Restaurant’s head chef, used for competition special soup. Just the pot alone is worth over a million,"

Liu Zheng introduced.

"And this flavorless one?"

"A specialty soup cooked by the head sister of the Jiwei Group, at the cost of damaging her inherited pot. It’s already been declared the winner by the Dragonfly Captain,"

he continued.

"Hmm... if that’s the case, its value is barely adequate,"

French Plane Tree muttered.

The value of a collectible must be considered comprehensively, and that includes its symbolic meaning and rarity.

Together, these two soups had enough symbolic meaning and rarity, granting them extremely high added value.

You should know, the head chef of the Bloody Restaurant has always been a judge in culinary competitions, and it’s almost impossible for outsiders to challenge him.

It was a mystery how this idiotic human managed it.

Two tree roots emerged and plunged into the soup pots.

The level of soup visibly dropped as French Plane Tree’s expression gradually became more blissful.

"Burp~ That’s delicious."

It let out a satisfied belch and said blissfully.

Lately, the idiotic human kept bringing it alcohol, and it was almost getting numb to the taste.

But after drinking these two pots of soup, French Plane Tree’s sense of taste was immediately revitalized, and it even felt like it could drink ten more bottles.

Liu Zheng looked at it and felt an urge to laugh.

"Idiotic human, laugh my ass! Take your stuff and get out of my sight,"

French Plane Tree noticed his expression and said very displeased.

A fat parasite got tossed out of the Black Soil, slapping onto Liu Zheng’s face.

"Smack!"

He pulled the parasite off, finding himself face to face with the bug-headed middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Name: parasite"

"Type: Item"

"Quality: Fine"

"Effect: Can replace the consumption of ’flesh’ when performing actions that require it."

"Note: Little bug here, I’m really going to mooch~"

"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

"Uh..."

Liu Zheng, with an awkward expression, put the parasite into the system space.

"I’m off."

He said goodbye and drove back to the Jidao Public Bath.

Inside the women’s bath, Red Dragonfly was competing in a breaststroke race with Chili Head in the pool, while the rest of the Jiwei Group watched from the sidelines.

In a way, the competition was unfair because Red Dragonfly had six legs and couldn’t really be doing the breaststroke.

"Here."

Liu Zheng handed the parasite to Guo Koutangzi.

"You actually managed to get this."

Guo Koutangzi was somewhat surprised.

She had once seen a chef use this kind of parasite as an ingredient; the finished product wasn’t priced very high, enough only to make a down payment at most.

"I told you, my connections are beyond your imagination,"

he said lightly.

"Pfft, playing the part of the sixth demon king."

Guo Koutangzi took the parasite, lifting her head and slipping it into her neck.

"Give me the pot."

Her voice was slightly airy.

Liu Zheng, suppressing laughter, passed the soup pot to her.

Guo Koutangzi took the pot and then inserted the handle into her neck.

Blood spurts forth, then is sucked into the pot.

Red veins spread from the handle to the body of the pot, and the metallic surface began to extrude a thick layer of flesh.

The veins and flesh swelled with each breath from Guo Koutangzi, resembling both a heart and a head.

"Om mani padme hum!"

Minutes later, Guo Koutangzi suddenly chanted loudly.

Immediately after, the veins retracted back into the neck, and the flesh burrowed back into the pot.

Guo Koutangzi pulled out the handle and reattached her own head.

"Cough cough."

She suddenly coughed violently, then coughed up a small pair of glasses.

"The soup pot is restored; can we announce the result of the competition now?"

She spoke to Red Dragonfly in the pool, her voice weak and feeble.

Despite having the parasite to supply the ’flesh,’ Guo Koutangzi still suffered a great loss of vitality.

Fortunately, Red Dragonfly’s hearing was sufficiently sharp.

It flapped its wings and flew right in front of Guo Koutangzi.

"Congratulations to you, the head sister of the Jiwei Group, you’ve won this competition,"

it said, touching her head with the Referee Stick.

With a gentle tap, it drove Guo Koutangzi into the floor entirely, as if driving a stake into the ground.